


Kairos

by homoamphibians



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 3: The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson), Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Ghost King Nico di Angelo, Hurt Nico di Angelo, Implied Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Light Angst, Nico Feels, Nico di Angelo centric, Nico is just fucking tired, Nico swears, Nico-centric, Protective Nico di Angelo, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24677308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homoamphibians/pseuds/homoamphibians
Summary: The Fates send Nico back in time and now he has to figure out how to do shit right, not fuck up, and keep his sister alive.As if it wasn't bad enough doing all this shit the first time, he has to do it all again.More trauma? Just what the doctor ordered.(Alternate Description: He was a boy in the camp doing not great, then he became a servant of the fates, now he's gotta figure out how to get over his hate, so much to learn and see.)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 129





	1. Chapter 1

Nico usually woke up to darkness and silence. 

It was standard procedure, no noise, no light allowed in the Hades cabin, he didn't do well with either of those things, in general but especially in the morning. 

His barely conscious form wasn't the best at processing things and an excessive amount of noise just sent his brain into fight or flight, which neither option was good for barely conscious Nico Di Angelo. He would either find himself in a different continent, which always resulted in everyone lecturing him as if he was some child that hadn't been shadow traveling since he was 11 years old, or with an ally pinned to the floor with a sword to their throat. 

Therefore, for everyone's safety and to save everyone one of the many lectures they loved gracing him with, no light and no noise were allowed in his room. 

Hazel, Reyna, and Solace were the only exceptions and he had spent enough time to recognize the sound of their breathing and their auras. 

That had been the routine for so long.

Which meant that the fact he was hearing things with some sort of light in this room was worrisome to say the least. 

The breathing he was hearing did not come from any of the allowed group, nor anyone else he recognized the breathing of. 

There was breathing and light conversation that came from vocal chords that pricked at his memory but ultimately came up with nothing.

He was in danger. That was the only possible answer to this. He had been kidnapped again. 

Just when he had started to let his guard down, he had been kidnapped. He was an absolute idiot for thinking that he could ever rest, ever be happy, ever attempt for contentment in his godsforsaken life. Nico Di Angelo, fucking everything up once again. 

Enough. 

The regret would come later, he had to deal with this situation. 

He opened an eye, not processing the images that greeted him, and called out to the shadows, thrusting himself into them. 

It was different this time. 

Not as smooth.

He ended up, rolling out of it into a forest he had never seen before.

Sticks scratched his skin and he had definitely hit a bone into a tree, but he had had worse so it was easy enough to walk through the pain. He did apologize to the tree though, there was no response, but better be safe than piss off a nymph. 

Nymphs were scary as fuck. 

They either giggled at him or glared, and he wasn't sure exactly which one bothered him more. 

Well, that wasn't true but he wasn't going to be the person that was scared of feminine spirits being flirtatious. 

Ignoring his homosexual panic at the thought of nymphs appearing, he was able to find his way further into the woods. 

The woods were mostly empty, dark, ideal for a demigod to rest before he could shadow travel again. 

There was a light, a warm glow, from somewhere in the forest. 

He recognized it and he recognized the girl sitting in front of the fire when he followed it deeper. 

Nico knelt, "My lady." 

There wasn't many gods that he genuinely respected, it was a more of an act respectful to avoid dying and surprisingly he was pretty damn good at not dying. Which no one would think given literally everything about him. That being said, there were a few that he honestly respected.

And she?

She was one of them.

"Come sit, eat my child. You look as if you are starving and you have had a long journey," Hestia nodded at him. 

He sat down by the fire, "I'm not entirely sure I know how long this journey has been." 

"Do you not?" She handed him a plate filled with warm food. 

He bowed his head, "Thank you, Lady Hestia. And I don't. Where exactly am I?"

"You are a far way from your home I fear. You know me yet I do not know you. You have the mark of the Fates upon you alongside my blessing and an aura of death that does not belong to the body you possess. What is your name?" She tilted her head slightly, gesturing to his plate as a signal for him to eat. 

This was unusual. 

He had known her for many years, since he had gotten to camp for the first time. Not to mention the mark of the Fates and aura that didn't belong. 

Shit. 

A realization dawned his memory. 

He had been summoned last night and for some reason the adrenaline from waking up in a new situation had allowed him to forget what happened. 

_"I am so sorry you have to go through this, child," Hestia murmured, laying a hand on his shoulder._

_Surprisingly, he didn't flinch from the touch._

_Instead, he just nodded, "It'll be hard but the Fates have decreed it and I have a chance to save my sister."_

_"Not everyone can be saved. I give you my blessing that you might find a home whenever you need one. Do not be lost this time around,"_ _Hestia spoke._

_The world disappeared from him, fading into blissful unawareness._

"My name is Nico Di Angelo and know who I am in this world and what I have to do." 

With that he finally took a bite of the food.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the meal was quiet. 

Hestia did not ask any questions, which Nico very much appreciated.He wasn't sure exactly how much he could talk about, let alone how much he actually wanted to discuss. The past, or he supposed the future now, was painful. Extremely fucking painful. He didn't talk about it with anyone, he didn't want to burden them or have them think he was weak, so adding in the whole time travel thing made him even less likely to disclose anything. 

The Fates had really stolen him away, allowed his father and Hestia speak to him, gave him a vague task and sent him on his way. There were no rules for time travel, he didn't know how it worked, if he could ever mention it and he absolutely had no clue what he was supposed to do.

They didn't even allow him to say goodbye to Hazel or other people he cared about. He would never see them again and he would just vanish from their lives and they would worry themselves over him because that's what they always did. 

Did they even exist? By going into the past had he erased everyone's lives? Sure getting rid of the trauma was probably ideal and stopping unnecessary deaths was something he had to do. But it shouldn't be his choice whether to erase everyone. 

Were they gone?

Had he basically killed all of his friends for this quest that had no guarantee to make things better? 

Did it even matter? He would never see them again. Any versions of them would not know him and he'd have to start over again. 

Hazel didn't know who he was. Hazel was stuck in the Fields. If Nico fixed everything, she wouldn't be able to leave. 

Fuck. 

He had doomed Hazel for the sake of Bianca. That wasn't right. This was just proof he was a shitty person. He had promised Hazel that she was his sister and that he would love her no matter what and that she wasn't a replacement for Bianca. She wasn't. Not anymore. But then he had to go ahead and treat her like one. Like she was someone he could toss away whenever. 

The Fates had called him a hero, he had scoffed at that. He was no hero, he had never been. This was just proof he was a monster. 

People deserved to be given a second chance, not him. He was irredeemable. A selfish monster that hurt everyone he interacted with.

He wouldn't get close to anyone. Not this time. It was the only way to protect people from the plague previously known as Nico Di Angelo. 

Keep people alive but from the sidelines. Be the puppetmaster, not one of the puppets. 

People needed to forget about him, that he even existed. It would be the safest route, be ordinary and withdrawn on the top layer and behind the scenes be preventing innocents from dying. 

It was best that way. 

"My child," Hestia placed a hand on his shoulder. 

His eyes focused, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. 

He bowed his head, "Yes, Lady Hestia?"

"You are lost," she remarked quietly, her warm eyes sorrowful. 

He shook his head, "I have to respectfully disagree, my lady. I am not lost. I know exactly who I am and where I'm supposed to be." 

"Shall I return you to where you're supposed to be?" She raised an eyebrow, removing her hand from his shoulder. 

That was impossible.

He could never go home. 

Nico nodded, "Westover Hall please, if you do not mind."

"I do not. It is okay if you are lost, you will find your way. You have my blessing," she reassured him. 

A warm light surrounded him at this point, he closed his eyes instinctively. 

As her presence was leaving him, or more accurately he was leaving her presence, he spoke. "I'm not lost, I have a plan." 

The warmth gave no answer before fading from him. It was better that way. He had a suspicion that she wouldn't have believed him.

As he opened his eyes, he realized he was in the Dining Hall a half eaten plate in front of him. He was wearing the uniform and all, which was a nice touch. He made a mental reminder to thank her for that later. 

"Nico Di Angelo, where have you been?" A voice he never thought he would hear again spoke. 

He could feel his hearbeat accelerating and he knew who it was without turning around. That being said, he still turned around. 

Bianca looked almost the same as her ghost. The same shade of pale, less see through. A green cap on her head instead of her braid she had died in. 

He pulled her into a hug. 

She was warm. A sign that she was actually alive. He could feel her breathing and her heartbeat. 

She was here, alive, a real person. 

His sister was okay. 

He masked his expression before the tears could start, "I've just been getting food, Bi."

"You should've met up with me as usual, I was worried," she hugged him back before letting go and settling into a seat next to him. 

He muttered, "I can handle myself."

"You don't have to though. We have each other, you have me to take care of you. I'm not going to let my kid brother go off on his own," she rolled her eyes with a familiar smile that made him want to disappear into the shadows and cry. 

It hurt. She was okay but it hurt seeing her. He was so happy she was alive but it still made him feel this wrenching sob desperately attempting to come out. He repressed it, not as easily as usual. 

Nico turned to her, looking at the eyes that used to haunt him, "Bianca. I want you to live your life. We have each other but your role in life doesn't have to be my caregiver. I want you to do what makes you happy, what you feel your calling is. You can be your own person, I want you to." 

She blinked. 

He looked away. 

That probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. He needed to say it to her though. In the past, he had resented her for leaving.

The Hunters weren't what got her killed though. In fact, the Hunters were the best chance of her living longer. Percy Jackson, gods he hated the wave of emotions he got with that name, didn't kill her either. 

It was Nico's fault. He had ruined their relationship with his hate and she wanted to make him feel better so she died to grab him a stupid little figurine. 

She had died because he was a selfish bastard. He was what had killed her. It was on his head. 

This would fix everything. 

"That was unexpected. Sweet though. Thank you, Neeks. You know what would make me happy?" Her smile was a tad more mischevious, like when they were kids in Italy. 

He raised an eyebrow, "What?" 

"Don't bring the cards to the dance today," she requested. 

Nico nodded, "Okay. I think I'm growing out of them anyway. Mythomagic is a kid's game." 

Surprisingly, after living his whole life fighting monsters and gods, he was over it. Sometimes his life felt like a game of Mythomagic that some dumb kid who hated him was playing. 

Plus, Bianca had died because of it. Establishing that he was over it would save her, not that he allow her to be on the quest anyway.

Did she need to be on the quest? Would the quests change? 

It would have been helpful if the Fates had told him anything at all. 

This was when what else she had said clicked. 

Fuck. 

The dance was today, the one where he met Percy Jackson. 

The dance that changed his life was today and he had no plan. None whatsoever. 

Godsdamnit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a comment and let me know what y'all thought about this chapter


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case you didn't see, this is a double update so make sure to read chapter 2 before this

There was the age old question if you swapped bodies, would you feel the responses that the body you're currently in normally feels or would you feel your own responses? It was really a question if the whole brain swapped or if just the consciousness swapped. If the whole brain swapped then emotions and triggers that affected the main body, the one that the person swapped into, would have no effect. If the consciousness was the the thing that swapped, there would be a reaction because brains, no matter who is currently possessing them, holds onto reactions and will continue to enact said reactions until they are untrained. 

It was a dumb thing that Solace had spent several days arguing about with him after watching one too many sci-fi shows together, Nico wasn't a big fan of sci-fi but for some reason Will enjoyed Star Trek so he let it slide. 

Even though it was something that Nico hadn't cared about, at all, it was the main thing his brain was focusing on now. Or rather his conscious. Or maybe both. He didn't know anything about the human body. 

What exactly brought that subject up?

Well, the fact that Percy Fucking Jackson's dumb green eyes made his heart start racing. 

Which proved the fact that there had to be some aspect of his 10 year old hopelessly gay brain in there because he was over Percy. Honestly over Percy. Not in the denial way but legitimately. Percy Jackson while cute was not the kind of guy he was into anymore. 

He continued glancing at them, taking in how young everyone was.

None of them had held the world, or fought Titans, or giants, or the fucking Earth, or been to Tartarus. Physically they looked younger too but mostly it was the fact that there was a smile on their faces that was genuine. They weren't soldiers. They were just kids, kids trying to do the best they could. 

Gods needed to stop ruining the innocence of childhood with bloodshed. 

But they wouldn't, so here he was, his childhood ruined not once but twice to make sure everyone else didn't have to pay for therapy. 

He was deserving on this burden. He had taken it on once, he would do it again. 

And this time he would do it better and make sure that they looked this young for as long as he could. 

They would be happy. Happy and alive and not going through Tartarus. 

Not losing loved ones, well there was no guarantee because some deaths had to happen. But definitely not losing as many loved ones. 

He locked eyes with Thalia, the only one not smiling. 

She instead was rolling her eyes at Grover, who was loudly protesting something that Nico couldn't exactly pick up from his position at the bleachers. 

He had a sneaking suspicion that this was the argument about the music she had later told him about. About how they played no actually good music at the dance, he had agreed with her once she told him and Grover had gotten upset about both of them, apparently since he requested a lot of the music. 

That was the only conversation he knew happened at the dance, so there was a slight possibility it was the one they were having.

Of course, that was considering that something small he had did hadn't already messed up everything that normally would have happened. 

He knew about the butterfly effect.

That wasn't really important to him, considering his job was to change the future which meant using the butterfly effect he supposed, but he still knew it was a factor which meant he could not rely on any conversation that had happened in the past. The future. The past future. 

Gods this was confusing. 

Terminology was added to the long list of Things the Fates Should Have Told Him. 

Nico grabbed his sister's hand, "I want to request a song." 

"I thought you were supposed to start being independent," she teased, coming with him anyway. 

He shrugged, "Too many people." 

This was a lie but he wasn't going to tell her that he didn't want her to get abducted by a manticore which he feared would happen if she left him alone.

"Okay." she responded, her voice quiet. She started rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb, in a calming motion that she always used to do when they were kids in crowds. 

He supposed this applied now since they were kids in a crowd again.

Not that he was a kid, or ever would be again. But he seemed like a kid, at least to any mortal being. He wasn't entirely sure how monsters saw him but he hoped that they saw the aura of death he carried with him. Perhaps it would let him get some peace from them. That would be quite nice. Enjoyable even. 

If it involved him being happy, that was totally unrealistic. Which meant, it wasn't going to happen. 

He had made it to the dj, requested a song, and had managed to make eye contact with Thalia again as _American Idiot_ started playing. 

She nodded approvingly at him, but her eyes radiated confusion, asking a question that he wouldn't be able to answer. 

Thalia didn't confront them as they went back to the bleachers. 

However, Dr. Thorn managed to grab Bianca and him by the scruff of their necks as if they were kittens and escorted them outside. 

It wouldn't be smart to reveal his powers here, if he had to do it, he would do it outside, so Nico stayed still. 

As they exited into the Main Entry Hall, Nico spoke. His voice was venomous but quiet, a threat he had not bothered to veil, "If you hurt my sister, I will not hesitate to kill you." 

"Nico, don't," Bianca whispered. 

Dr. Thorn laughed, "Child shut up. You have no idea what you're dealing with." 

"No. I know the extent of your abilities. You don't want to be able to say the same about me," he just stared at the Manticore, a slightly bored expression on his face. 

This was his way of masking his fear. 

He was not afraid of Dr. Thorn, or at least he wasn't for himself. But Bianca was fragile, she knew nothing about this world. She could die easily. Nico wasn't allowed to experience the freedom of death. He knew too much, and he could handle himself. The difficulty was handling himself while protecting his sister. And he would not allow her to get hurt. 

Dr. Thorn let them go, moving towards the door in preparation to strike. 

Bianca's eyes were filled with fear. 

Nico held her hand, stepping slightly in front of her but without moving enough to give the monster a reason to attack.

It was at this time that Percy entered. Right on cue. 

He advanced slowly, lowering the tip of Riptide, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." 

Nico stared at him, trying to convey the message that they weren't scared of some random teenager. 

"My name's Percy," he said, trying to keep his voice calm as if he were comforting some crying kids, "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe." 

Nico knew what came next. 

Bianca's eyes widened. 

Dr. Thorn grinned. 

Nico yelled, "Percy behind you!"

The grin vanished from the manticore's face as he sent the spike that was meant for Percy to Nico.

Nico couldn't move. Well he could but if he did, it would hurt Bianca. 

So instead he readied himself to get hut and took the projectile straight into the shoulder, poison automatically seeping into his wound. 

It wasn't the worst pain he had felt, but it was the worst pain his body had felt which meant half of his brain was crying while the other half repressed it and continued on. He sided with the repressing side, the rational side of his brain. 

Bianca cried out, "Nico!"

Percy ran up to Nico instead of looking around for a monster. 

A total reckless hero move. Idiotic. Kind of adorable. 

No. 

Fuck no. 

Idiotic. It was stupid and meant that this encounter was going to go on for much longer than expected. 

A second spike hurled towards them. 

Nico tried to push Percy but this body was pretty weak physically which meant the spike caught the edge of Percy's shirt instead of his shoulder but still stuck him to the wall. 

A chilling laugh echoed, a sound that made Bianca's hand tremble in his. 

"Yes, Perseus Jackson," Dr. Thorn approached, "I know who you are. Thank you for coming out of the gym. I hate middle school dances." 

Percy attempted to swing Riptide. 

A third projectile shot from the manticore, impaling itself only a half inch from Bianca's face. 

Bianca yelped. 

Nico snarled, "Do not hurt my sister. That is your final warning." 

"All three of you will come with me. Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help, or try to fight, I will show you how accurately I can throw. And warning or not Di Angelo, your sister will be the test subject," Dr. Thorn started herding them outside. 

Percy whispered into the younger boy's ear as they walked, "Are you okay?"

"I will be as soon as we get away from this," Nico casually whispered back. 

Again, this wasn't a lot of pain, he had dealt with worse. But he supposed watching a 10 year old get hit with poison probably made that person concerned. He hated that Percy immediately had to check in, Nico hadn't checked in when it was Percy who had gotten hit the first time. 

Damn heroes, always trying to make sure he was okay. 

"Stop talking," Thorn hissed, "Keep moving." 

Percy closed his eyes and kept moving forward. 

Nico wasn't entirely sure what he was doing but he had did it last time, which probably meant something. 

The woods were as snowy as ever, the ice biting at Nico's exposed shoulder wound. 

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said, "We will summon your ride." 

"What ride? Where are you taking us?" Bianca demanded, silent tears sliding down her face. 

She didn't cry last time. 

He didn't like to see his sister cry. 

He didn't like that at all. 

Thorn hissed, "Silence you insufferable girl!" 

"Don't you talk to my sister that way," Nico growled. 

The earth started to tremble slightly at his agitation, the shadows drawing closer. It was tempting to have Thorn dragged down to Tartarus by skeletons or have the shadows consume him for making Bianca cry. 

But no. 

That would leave too many questions. 

Maybe he could just push him off the cliff like last time. This time without Annabeth. 

But if Annabeth hadn't been kidnapped, would there be a quest?

Did there need to be a quest? 

Fuck this. 

"Halt," Dr. Thorn pushed us toward the edge of the cliff. 

Bianca caught Percy. 

The two of them started whispering, Nico, however, hadn't taken his eyes off of the manticore and wasn't planning on it. 

Thorn was dangerous, not that dangerous but Nico didn't have any weapons and couldn't use his powers which made every encounter more dangerous. 

There were three of them, Bianca had no training, Nico had no weapons, and Percy wasn't Percy yet. 

Which meant they were absolutely fucked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a comment, I love interacting with y'all.  
> also,  
> will solace likes star trek because he relates to Dr. McCoy prove me wrong send tweet


	4. Chapter 4

Nico was having a rough time.

Not because of the poison he felt seeping into his body, that happened pretty regularly in the life of a demigod. Which was probably concerning. 

It wasn't even because of the fact that he felt the emotions his 10 year old self had, which was ridiculous how that worked and he would have to have a discussion with the Fates about how making him have the stupid crush he had as a child would really impair his ability to function in a reasonable way. 

No, he was having a rough time because his sister was crying and he wanted to kill the thing that had hurt her but he couldn't. 

The rational side of his brain told him he just had to act like a kid for a bit and then the Hunters would come and everything would be okay. 

The irrational side of his brain was plotting how to get Riptide from Percy to send Dr. Thorn's pathetic excuse for a soul down to Tartarus forever. 

Unfortunately, the irrational side of his brain was much louder. 

This was his sister. His dead sister. Alive. But distressed. 

She was back, she was alive, but she was not okay. And he needed to do everything in his power to make sure she was okay, to make sure she never got hurt again. No one messed with his family, no one got to hurt them, no one even got to interact with them in a slightly negative way. 

He was the reason she had died. 

He would not let her get anywhere close to that. 

Which meant he was having a hard time not using the extent of his powers and disposing of the small threat the manticore posed to his sister. He could do things, things that no demigod should be able to do, monstrous things. 

It was hard not doing them. 

He never liked to do them, never liked being a monster. 

But he would be a monster if it was to save Bianca, he would kill anyone to save her. 

The earth started trembling again, lightly so that only one attuned to the ground would be able to feel it. 

Bianca moved her thumb in light circles across the back of his hand. 

His hand stopped shaking, relaxing.

He hadn't even realized his hands were balled up into fists, that his jaw was clenched.

Nico needed to stop. Revealing himself as a monster in front of Percy would only cause complications. Plus, if Bianca thought he was going through something she wouldn't leave him, no matter how much she wanted her independence. 

Act like a scared little boy, not the wrathful Ghost King hoping to find another soul to damn. 

"I'm scared," he mumbled in what he hoped was a convincing terrified child's voice. 

The manticore snarled, "Stop talking! Face me!"

They all turned. 

Nico mentally rolled his eyes, keeping up his mask though. He had forgotten how fucking dramatic monsters were if you let them perform. 

Thorn's eyes glittered as he pulled out a phone, "The package, it is ready to deliver." 

It was nearly impossible to not roll his eyes at this point. 

Monsters using cell phones was an absolute bullshit concept. The fact that they got to use technology while any demigod that did it put a target on their head was dumb as fuck. He added that to the list of things to ask the Fates. A very long list indeed. 

Percy glanced over his shoulder. 

Nico hadn't recognized it in the past but he knew what was happening now. Percy was attempting to figure out if the drop was safe enough. Actually analyzing something. 

Pretty impressive for Percy Jackson. He never really was a think it through kind of guy. 

Yet another reason that their relationship would never work out, not that Nico was thinking about that during a fight. 

The monster laughed, "By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself." 

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered. 

Nico shook his head, "It doesn't matter." 

"I'll explain later," Percy offered. 

Bianca nodded before tilting her head slightly, "You do have a plan, right?" 

Percy was silent. 

To 10 year old Nico, Percy was a hero, and heroes could never not know what they were doing. 

But 10 year old Nico was gone and 14 year old Nico knew way too much about Percy Jackson. One of those things was he never had a plan. He usually managed to make it through things but he never had a plan. Hell he had fucking jumped into Tartarus without a plan and made it through. 

Percy was a hero but a dumbass and the best course of action would be to wait. 

"I would kill you before you ever reached he water," Thorn remarked. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"

Another projectile whizzed by, 

Again, so very overdramatic.

"Unfortunately, you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise, you would be already dead," Thorn said, a cruel smile on his face.

Bianca spoke up, "Who wants us? Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I..."

"He doesn't have the brain capacity for a ransom. At least not a traditional monetary one. He wants us for other reasons," Nico interrupted, glaring at the manticore for making his sister cry. 

The manticore just grinned wider, "Smart little boy. You should be honored. You will have the opportunity to join a great army, then you'll have a new family. It'll be just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls." 

"Your army will never be great. How can it be when it's filled with mindless monsters?" Nico rolled his eyes. 

Thorn put a hand up to silence him, "Now now. You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well...there are many other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway." 

"The Great what?" Percy asked. 

The manticore had the same stupid grin on his face, "The stirring of monsters. The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction, the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all, the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

The level of drama was unnecessary. Those weren't even the most powerful monsters, they were more powerful than manticores sure but they were not really a big deal. There was so much worse in Tartarus, but he supposed it wouldn't be the level of drama that monsters required if Thorn didn't throw in the downfall of Olympus. A classic line in any and all fights.

The amount of times Nico had hear the phrase "bring about the downfall of Olympus" versus the actual downfall of Olympus happening was insane. Olympus had been through shit but not a downfall. 

Thorn didn't know what he was talking about and if Nico was alone and cared slightly more, he might have corrected him, but he wasn't so he didn't.

"Okay. He's completely nuts," Bianca whispered.

Percy whispered back, "We have to jump off the cliff. Into the sea." 

"Oh great. You're completely nuts too," Bianca whispered. 

Nico smiled slightly. 

That was a dumb idea and one they would be avoiding as Percy was not Percy yet and Nico didn't know if he could prevent children from drowning. When did the lifeguard abilities show up? He wasn't going to risk him and his sister in Poseidon's domain for the sake of finding out. 

At least it was an idea though. 

It was at that moment all Tartarus broke loose. 

He got knocked over onto his wounded shoulder, Bianca landing next to him into the snow. 

It was also at that moment he remembered that Annabeth had a cap of invisibility and the person that had assaulted his sister was a friend. Which was a good thing to remember. 

He grabbed Bianca and took off running into the forest, away from the sight. 

There were sounds of explosions and gunfire and screams and just general battle sounds. 

Bianca was wincing at each explosion and gunshot, she didn't protest Nico dragging her away and ran with him. 

Once they were a safe enough distance away, he pulled her to the ground and kept an eye out to make sure no one had followed them. 

The Hunters would retrieve them once Thorn was slain. 

This was the best course of action, he didn't trust anyone to keep Bianca safe but himself and he could not reveal his powers this early. Not if he wanted to save the world from the shadows unquestioned. Not if he wanted Bianca to live her best life and not worry about him. 

"What's happening?" Bianca whispered, her voice filled with panic. 

Nico shrugged, "I don't know. A fight I guess." 

"You threatened him. And called him a monster. And said his army was made up of monsters," Bianca pointed out, the silent confusion very obviously present. 

He looked down, "I didn't want him to hurt you. So I pretended to act all tough so that he would back off. My shoulder really hurts." 

It didn't hurt that much but it would distract her from him knowing a little too much.

"I'm the big sister. It's my job to protect my kid brother and act tough," she said softly, looking at his shoulder wound, "Your shoulder is kinda green." 

"Like a cool green or?" He flashed her a toothy smile which was easier to do then he would have thought.

She crossed her arms, "Not a cool green. Infections are not cool, Nico." 

"They could be though," he shrugged. 

She sighed, an exasperated smile appearing on her face, "No. No they cannot." 

They sat in silence, her arm around his shoulders, making sure not to touch his wound. 

Even through the sound of gunshots and shouts, there was an almost light aura around the both of them, something that Nico only felt around Bianca, something he had remembered feeling as a kid. 

It was pure, it was light, it was untainted by trauma. 

Interesting. 

This was ruined as soon as the form of Zoe Nightshade appeared, walking towards them. 

Nico had forgotten she would be alive too. 

Yet another person to save. 

He had blamed her for his sister's death after Percy but she was innocent. A casualty that should be prevented. 

Her hands were raised as she noticed them, "I bring thee no harm, nor no bad will. I was sent to retrieve thee and treat thy brother's wound." 

Nico noticed that she was only talking to Bianca. 

Typical. 

Hunters usually ignored men. 

Which was valid in terms of relationships, platonic, sexual, or romantic, but was not valid in this situation. 

They could at least pretend he existed. 

It was better than turning him into a jackalope so he stayed silent. 

"Who are you?" Bianca asked, standing up in front of Nico. 

Nico stood up, staying behind her. 

Zoe was not a threat. 

She lowered her hands slowly, "I am Zoe Nightshade, lieutenant of Artemis." 

"What does that mean?" Bianca demanded, her arms crossed. 

Zoe started walking away, "It would be best to save thy questions for Lady Artemis herself." 

"Artemis...like the goddess?" Bianca asked as they walked. 

Zoe simply responded with a nod, which wasn't very helpful. 

Nico knew all of this but he also knew how much it sucked when no one answered your questions. He had asked many questions to try and figure everything out but the only thing he figured out was that you pissed off people by being curious. 

Thus the silence. 

Even if he had questions, he would not answer them. 

Once they got to camp, Artemis turned to them. 

Nico immediately knelt, showing his respect. 

He knew how to handle gods, especially ones that hated men. 

"Rise young one," Artemis spoke, her tone a bit amused. 

Bianca had not knelt and just stared at Nico for a moment before shaking her head, "Who...who are you people?" 

"It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?" Artemis asked. 

Bianca looked between her brother and Artemis. 

Nico nodded, encouraging her. 

"Our parents are dead. We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..." she trailed off. 

Nico nodded again, "That's what we've been told. Bianca doesn't lie." 

The faces didn't change from disbelief. 

He hadn't expected them to. 

After all, they were both demigods. 

Which meant, one of their parents had to be alive. 

"You are a half-blood. One of thy parents was mortal, the other was an Olympian," Zoe announced. 

Bianca furrowed her brow, "An Olympian...athlete?" 

"No. One of the gods," Zoe explained. 

Nico nodded, making eye contact with Artemis as he did so. 

She was staring at him, trying to figure him out. 

That was unfortunate.

No one got to figure him out, not even a god. 

The closest one to him was Hestia and he would not let Artemis get anywhere with her inquiries. 

Hopefully, she didn't ask. 

He really did not want to end up as a woodland creature. Not after the day he's had. 


	5. Chapter 5

The first time he had met Artemis, he was amazed.

Absolutely awestruck. 

It wasn't by the fact that she was a literal goddess, or by her beauty which everyone assumed it was. It was the fact that she was the first immortal he had ever met. 

Nico had this ability, this burden in his eyes, where he could see everyone's risk of death. Well, it wasn't really risk of death, it was if they were likely to die anytime soon. He could see auras.

People had grey around them, signifying that their lives could end at any moment. Dead people and ghosts had black auras, signifying that their lives were over. Hazel used to have a black aura, everyday she lived it got slightly lighter. Now it was the same color as Franks, slightly darker than Nico would have liked. Dark grey auras were what Nico called an aura of death, it meant that the individual was more likely to die than the average mortal or that their time alive was running out. Demigods usually had a darker grey aura than mortals, due to their life expectancy being not much. The Hunters had a silver aura around them, nearly white but still with the possibility of death. 

Gods worked differently, which was to be expected, since they were gods. Their auras were gold, gods could not die. They could be destroyed, defeated, overthrown, or fade from existence but they didn't die. They had an aura of life around them but they didn't feel alive. 

The confusion of meeting someone who radiated life but wasn't alive had caused Nico to stare dumbly at her until she had stolen his sister and discarded him. 

Now, he was trying his best to avoid looking at her. 

He wasn't exactly sure how much the god inherently knew about him. The mark of the Fates was on him and so was the blessing of Hestia, but he wasn't sure how much information either of those things gave. Did he come with a time traveling pamphlet that any immortal could read? If so, could he read it next because he had no clue what he was doing? 

The Fates really did not explain a single thing to him so he really wasn't sure how much Artemis would know and if she would interrogate him. 

The first rule of time travel was not talking about time travel, so if Artemis tried to interrogate him, he would have no satisfactory answers to give. Which meant that she might turn him into a jackalope or a raven or perhaps even a deer. 

Gods were irritating like that. Don't give them the right answers? Well fuck don't know what to tell you, you're a goddamn ear of corn and you're going to have nightmares fueled by the smell of popped corn kernels for the rest of your short life, that is if you don't stay an ear of corn forever. 

That was a bit specific but still, it had happened. And Nico was 100% not over it yet, he doubted he would ever be over that. 

So it was safe to say, he was a bit concerned about angering a goddess, due to the whole being turned into obscure plants thing that had happened four times in his life. 

Bianca, however, had no idea how to deal with gods and was in the process of freaking out. 

Nico had been about to say something, anything to fill the silence when she turned to him, yelling. 

"Nico, shut up! This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!" Bianca put her hands to her face. 

He wasn't that kid anymore, he was going to comfort her, but she still saw him as an immature little brother that couldn't handle anything. 

It was better that way. 

It was better if everyone told him to shut up, maybe he shouldn't even talk at all. It was best that way. Quiet meant that no one cared or noticed when you left. Quiet was good. He could be a quiet kid, one that disappeared with the shadows. Like usual. 

That was who he was and he was a fool to ever think that just because he went back in time meant that he could ever be anything but the shadow kid, the one everyone forgot about until they needed him. 

He wouldn't forget that again. 

Instead of speaking or pouting like he did last time, he just placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. 

She didn't turn to face him but it was better that way, because if she had turned it would've just been her lecturing him, getting out her rage on him. 

Then she would've felt bad and he needed her to not feel bad about him because that's what had killed her. 

He had killed her by being a pouty little kid, he wouldn't make that same mistake. 

Thalia spoke, her voice the calm authoritative one that she used as a lieutenant, "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well...Our lives are dangerous." 

"Dangerous, like the girl who fell," Bianca remarked. 

Nico winced at the lack of tact. 

Rule number one of seeing someone get kidnapped, don't immediately bring up the kidnapped person as an analogy. 

He wasn't great with people but he knew that much. 

Artemis spoke calmly, "Do not despair for Annabeth. She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her." 

"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" Percy asked, his beautiful eyes lit up with anger in that way that made Nico glad they were no longer enemies. 

Artemis stared at Percy, "She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished." 

Percy nodded, the fire in his eyes starting to be replaced with sadness. Not that Nico was looking at his eyes or anything.

Fucking hormones. 

"I have a question," Nico raised a hand.

Artemis turned to him, "Yes, boy?" 

"Would it be okay if I excused myself from this conversation to bandage my shoulder? Cause I don't think it's good to leave an infected wound open and also it kinda hurts," he remarked. 

It didn't hurt, well not as bad as anything else he had gone through, but this was an excuse to get Artemis and Bianca talking and yeah he wouldn't mind some ambrosia at the moment. 

Artemis offered a small smile, "Zoe we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents, treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school." 

"Yes my lady," Zoe bowed her head. 

Artemis then gestured to Bianca, "Come with me, Bianca. I would like to speak with you. Nico, Grover will treat your shoulder...as a favor to me?" 

"You bet!" Grover nodded. 

Nico watched as Bianca and Artemis left and the Hunters started to set up camp. 

Once the fire was lit, he moved over to there, Grover following. 

Percy and Thalia were arguing. He hadn't remembered this happening last time, but to be fair he was 10 and talking about his favorite thing in the universe so of course he wouldn't remember every detail of the past. 

"Hold still," Grover ordered. 

Nico did as he asked, knowing better than to piss off a medic. 

Grover handed him a square of ambrosia as he started cleaning out the wound, "Eat this, it'll make you feel better." 

"Okay," Nico responded, biting into the ambrosia. 

It was weird. 

The taste of it didn't taste like it usually did for him. 

It tasted like Apollo cabin's snickerdoodle cookies. Which was extremely weird due to the fact he didn't even really like those cookies that much. 

The taste of it made his mind start to drift to uncomfortable corners. 

He was never going to see Will again, at least the Will he knew. He was never going to be that person to Will again. 

Were the lives that he might save worth this feeling? 

They were. He shouldn't even question that. That was such a shitty question. 

His happiness didn't matter and it would never matter when the fate of the world was on the line, and it was always on the fucking line. 

"Are you in pain?" Grover asked quietly. 

Nico shook his head, it didn't hurt anymore. The ambrosia and salve had worked wonders. 

"You're crying," Grover pointed out. 

He reached a hand up, feeling the tears that Grover had pointed out. 

The demigod shook his head, "No I'm not." 

"Grover, leave him alone," Thalia ordered, sitting down next to Nico. 

This was definitely weird. 

Thalia had gone off to pace with the wolves while Percy had stayed at the fire. 

Now it was reversed. 

Percy going off to walk in the woods somewhere while Thalia was here. 

Did this mean anything? Did he fuck up with the timeline? 

Probably not. 

Nico nodded gratefully, wiping away the rest of the tears. 

"Did you have any questions? I know that this is a big change and people were just kind of ignoring you back there," she offered him a reassuring smile. 

He shrugged, "I think I understand everything." 

"Okay. Well if you have any questions or need to talk, I'm here," she shrugged as well, "Now that that's done, you were the one to request the _Green Day_ song huh?"

Nico nodded. 

"You looked at me right before and after it played," Thalia's eyes pierced into him. 

He nodded again. 

"Why?" She raised an eyebrow. 

Nico shrugged again, "You were the only alternative kid there. I figured you'd like _Green Day_ rather than _My Chem_ so I requested it so we could have something to enjoy rather than the songs that were playing." 

"Makes sense. There were some godsawful songs being played," Thalia nodded, a smirk on her face as she turned to Grover.

Grover crossed his arms, "Hey, the music was pretty good." 

"No it wasn't," Thalia rolled her eyes. 

Nico nodded his agreement. 

That was when Grover and Thalia erupted into an argument about music that Nico mostly tuned out. 

His focus was divided among them and also the girl approaching them. 

He had seen her ghost before. 

This wasn't her ghost though.

She was alive and approaching. 

"Nico Di Angelo?" Naomi gestured towards him. 

He nodded. 

"Lady Artemis requests your presence if your wound is healed enough." 

Well fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave some theories for how this fic is going to go in the comments, I wanna see what y'all think

**Author's Note:**

> will I ever stop making titan curse fanfics?  
> probs not


End file.
